Using Anthrax to Fight Cancer: Turning a Killer into a Cure
Anthrax is infamous as a deadly infection, yet researchers are finding ways to re-engineer its toxin to attack cancer instead of people. The anthrax bacterium produces three proteins that work together to enter and damage cells. Scientists focus on one of these, called protective antigen (PA)—a harmless “delivery vehicle” that can carry other proteins into a cell.
By altering PA, researchers make it activate only inside tumors. Cancer cells and the blood vessels that feed them often produce unique enzymes and surface receptors. The engineered PA recognizes these tumor signals and delivers cancer-killing proteins directly where they are needed. In animal studies, this strategy has shrunk tumors, cut off their blood supply, and left surrounding healthy tissue mostly untouched.
Because anthrax toxins are powerful, safety is critical. Scientists build multiple safeguards to prevent the modified toxin from harming normal cells. Even so, this approach is still experimental, and human trials are required to prove its safety and effectiveness.
If successful, anthrax-based therapies could add a new weapon against hard-to-treat cancers, showing how even one of nature’s most feared microbes can be turned into a force for healing.